


When You Know

by Maiika



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-24
Updated: 2020-03-24
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:33:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23303191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maiika/pseuds/Maiika
Summary: How soon is too soon?If the right person comes along, never.•college AU gochi•
Relationships: Chi-Chi/Son Goku (Dragon Ball)
Comments: 17
Kudos: 43





	When You Know

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry I haven’t written gochi in what feels like forever. I miss you, all my gochi friends and readers! I’m having a great time in another fandom now, but I couldn’t let this ship week pass without doing at least a little something for it.

He’s cute.

Like, he’s not just adorable-cute or hot-cute. There are no words for how _attractive_ Goku is to Chi-Chi, inside and out. But she knows every time she sees the tall and wild-haired boy enter the classroom, her heart skips a beat. Her hands sweat and her eyes are drawn to him, no matter how much she tries to focus on the professor and her notes. She’s caught her jaw dropping several times. At this point she’s glad she hasn’t literally _drooled_ over her classmate who is too perfect to exist. He’s not only insanely attractive, but he comes with an entourage. He’s popular, and she can see why. He’ll never notice her. But she supposes that isn’t so bad. 

More opportunity for her to stare.

* * *

_Work together for the remainder of the semester._ That’s what the professor said. About him. About her. Chi-Chi’s still processing what this means, how close she will be to the boy whose smile renders her speechless when she notices he’s standing in front of her desk.

She looks up. He blinks down at her.

“Hi,” he says, smiling as if his new partner isn’t staring at him like a deer caught in headlights, “I’m Goku.”

* * *

Goku isn’t interested in Chi-Chi. From what she’s seen all semester, he doesn’t even date. Everyone is a _friend_ to him. So that’s all she is when he’s invited her to join him at the football game. His other friends are there, predictably, cheering loudly and pranking each other in the bleachers. And when Goku offers Chi-Chi one of his fries (which he seems to be enjoying _far_ too much to even want to part with one) and takes the opportunity of a crowd uproar to seize Chi-Chi by the hips and tickle her until she’s squirming so hard she punches him, maybe she’s having more fun than she expected. But this isn’t a date. Bulma gives Goku an ice pack and Yamcha congratulates Chi-Chi on her right hook, but Goku’s still smiling at her when it’s over.

At _her._ It breaks her heart.

* * *

Her heartbreak only worsens as the semester goes on. He’s doing it to her on purpose, she begins to think. Because how can someone so maddeningly sweet and appealing have no interest in anyone else? Goku could have any girl he wants, Chi-Chi is sure of it. Any boy too, for that matter. But he spends more and more of his time with Chi-Chi, wasting his days on the girl who has a terrible crush on him but doesn’t interest him in any way. She’ll never push him away, no matter how much it hurts.

The temptation to be near him is too much.

His smile, his warmth, his energy have to be enough for Chi-Chi.

* * *

They’re about three-quarters of their way into the semester project when Chi-Chi has an accident in her martial arts class. Her leg gets put in a cast, and in addition to a lot of pain and discomfort, she’s confined to bed for a whole week, worried about the fate of her project. Because as wonderful as Goku is, he isn’t the best student. Chi-Chi doesn’t trust him with finishing their assignment, so she hounds him with aggressive texts through the week until she knows it’s being done right. By the time the week is ending and she knows she can return to her classes, Chi-Chi realizes she probably just ruined any chance of remaining Goku’s friend with the way she acted during the week. 

She gets a text from him on Sunday.

_Hope ur all better! Can’t wait 2 c u in class <3 _

* * *

Chi-Chi’s frazzled in her first week back. Their project is almost complete, the deadline fast approaching, and getting back into the routine of moving from class to class isn’t easy, especially not when her leg still has healing to do. The pain is partly to blame for how grouchy she feels, but it seems everything Goku does now annoys her. She doesn’t like when he puts his hand on her shoulder, or gives apologies for all the stupid things he’s done when she was away, and can’t stand the corrections she has to make on his mistakes. She doesn’t like the way he looks at her when she isn’t scolding him, like there’s something unsaid between them. Like he expects something from her. He looks like a lost puppy with those big brown eyes and a face so innocent it hurts.

She doesn’t like any of it, because it isn’t what she wants.

She wants more.

She wants him, and she can’t have him.

* * *

He tells her to stop. Chi-Chi’s running outside, and she’s crying. She doesn’t want Goku to see the tears. It’s none of his business why she’s broken down after receiving their scores. They’re not perfect, but they’re higher than most, which made Goku whoop with glee. Seeing him light up the room like that made something wrench in Chi-Chi’s heart. She’s helped him accomplish this, and he’s happy. She should be happy, too. She’s mad at herself because she isn’t happy. Not even close.

As she takes her next step on the damp campus sidewalk, Chi-Chi is seized by the shoulder with a grip that is too warm and comforting to be so strong. Goku’s voice saying her name compels her to exhale and stop her sobbing. She can’t fight him when he turns her around to face him. He looks down on her puffy eyes and tear tracks which run down her face and wet her jawline. His dark eyes become glossy as he looks her over. And then his brows narrow and he looks more dangerous than Chi-Chi has ever seen him before.

“Who did this to you?” he growls.

Chi-Chi gnaws her bottom lip before quietly admitting, “You did.”

* * *

As fiery as her anger was, it fades away in an instant with Goku’s next words. He confesses to her what she has always known she felt for him. He’s confident and smiling as he does it, somehow managing to make the biggest confession of his life as carefree as choosing a favorite flavor of ice cream. He confesses, with a delicate hold of Chi-Chi’s chin lifting her to meet his warm gaze, that he’s loved her since she became his partner. He didn’t say anything because he thought she knew. She smacks him, of course, because that’s the dumbest assumption. He isn’t the best at showing it, but Chi-Chi sees it, in hindsight. In his own ways, he’s shown her how he loves her all along.

* * *

Chi-Chi’s throwing her arms around Goku’s broad shoulders and pressing her lips to his before, enraptured by the ecstasy of their first kiss, she blurts out the dumbest thing she’s ever said. They’ve just confessed their feelings for each other. If Goku has really loved her as long as she’s loved him, they’ve been dating longer than Chi-Chi realizes. But it’s still so soon. It’s still _far too_ soon. And he must think she’s crazy. His eyes are wide as he sets her delicately to the ground. He must be regretting his decision to ask her out. As Chi-Chi sputters her apologies, trying to backpedal from the proposal that should’ve been _his_ to make and he obviously won’t be ready for until _at least_ they’ve graduated, he kisses her cheek.

He says, “I will.”

* * *

It only takes four months to hold the wedding (her father is surprisingly ecstatic), two more months to announce Chi-Chi’s first pregnancy (he’s even more ecstatic), another month to graduation (Dad is _thrilled)_ , and a lifetime of happiness, knowing it’s never too soon

_when you know._


End file.
